PSA: Early Voting Is Officially Open

The 2022 federal election is less than two weeks away, with the next Prime Minister to be decided on May 21. But you don’t necessarily need to wait until next Saturday to cast your votes, with early voting kicking off on Monday.

So without further ado, let’s dive into everything you need to know about voting early.

Can I Vote Early?

You absolutely can vote early. Early voting is open from Monday, May 9, with options to vote by post, or at one of the pre-polling booths set up across the country.

If you want to lodge a postal vote — the option recommended if you’re living overseas or will be travelling overseas during the election — you must ask the AEC for a voting form no later than May 18. These ballot papers will be accepted for 13 days after the election.

Alternatively, you can vote early in person. However, it’s worth noting that only certain polling centres are open for early voting and opening hours will differ. You can find your local pre-polling centre here.

For those living overseas, you can also lodge a vote in person at some Australian embassies and consulates, depending on where you’re located. However, you can also apply for an exemption from your voting duties if you’re overseas and don’t wish to exercise this right.

What Happens If I Get COVID?

Telephone voting — usually only reserved for people working in Antarctica and those with vision impairments — will be an option for people who have contracted COVID in the days leading up to the election.

There’s no online voting option, so if you contract COVID and don’t register for a postal vote, you’ll have to use the telephone voting system. This will only be available for the final three days of the election — as you’ll be able to register for a postal vote prior to that date.

According to the AEC’s engagement director Evan Ekin-Smyth, the process will be monitored to ensure votes are lodged correctly.

“The person taking the call will mark the ballot paper according to your wishes expressed on the phone,” Ekin-Smyth told The Guardian. “This process will be supervised and scrutineers will be able to observe, as they can for all voting methods.”

However, the AEC has warned that telephone voting is limited in its eligibility criteria and wait times will likely be longer than what it would take you to lodge your vote in person. Not to mention, you can’t get a democracy sausage.

“It will not be a smooth process,” Ekin-Smyth said. “The wait on the phone will be longer than the wait at a polling place. People need to plan their vote this election and ensure they only access services that they are eligible to access.”